Doomsday Wonderland

“Anybody? Go and check whether the two women over there are still breathing or not.”

After they blocked the entrance, the group of  duoluozhong  began to search the underground shrine. They tore the entire space down yet nobody saw any sign of their two soon-to-be comrades. Warden remained standing still. It gave its order, and a  duoluozhong  dawdled to his side and kicked the woman that laid lifelessly on the ground.

“She is dead,” unlike its confrère, the sound of this duoluozhong was soft and melodious. Its voice was coming out directly from its arctic-white head that deprived of any facial features, “No, wait, it seems that this one…”

Although one of the pregnant women had survived the stabs, she looked like a person with her one foot in the grave. The  duoluozhong  lifted her by grabbing her already weakened neck, without minding on the strength it used.

Crack .

As a result, it crushed her throat.

“Oh, now she’s dead,” the faceless  duoluozhong  shrugged, hurling the pregnant woman’s corpse to the ground.

“Hah!” The woman   let out a sarcastic laugh, causing the warden to turn its head around.

“Tell me, where are they?” The warden asked the woman softly, “… You should know very well that even though you bear the child of God, we still have many other ways to deal with you.”

Spit .

The woman spat phlegm and blood on the warden’s face.

Raising her head, the woman revealed her face that was hidden under her unkempt hair. She had high cheekbones and an etiolated complexion. Perhaps the only thing that remained unchanged on her face was her straight and sharp nose, “Just kill me!”

Her answer amused the warden a lot. It tilted its head and scrutinized her from her head to her toes. After a few seconds, the warden turned to the duoluozhong  standing next to it and asked, “Where is the last child she gave birth to?”

“In the nursery area? I don’t know. We can take her there and ask around.”

The woman froze and her face twisted in disgust and fear.

The warden clicked its tongue twice as a satisfied smile blossomed at the corner of its mouth. It then spoke, with its sticky voice, “As a mother, do you not miss your own offsprings after being separated from them for so long? Especially your daughters, oh those cute little bundle of joys. When they are being offered to God, I believe that you must want to see with your own eyes such a regal and great event, don’t you?”

The woman’s throat gurgled, and a trickle of gastric juice lined her lips. If it wasn’t for the grip, she might have thrown up already.

“Yuck, this is so gross,” the warden took a step back and waved its dead twig like arm, “If you don’t wish to be taken to see your children, then be more cooperative. As far as I know, the effect of the stigma still hasn’t worn off yet so, how did they escape?”

Heaving several times like a blacksmith’s bellows, the woman began to speak again.

“That is her ability,” her eyes gleamed, and there was a tinge of madness in her expression, “One of them can negate or render anomalies ineffective. The stigma has long gone…”

The warden’s face sank. Its layers of dried skins folded together, and a solemn look graced its face. It turned around and yelled at the crowd of duoluozhong in the center of the underground shrine, “Cease whatever you are doing right now. Those two bitches have already escaped! Close the entrance to the shrine and search outside!”

“How about her?” A duoluozhong asked as it showed the warden the woman in its hand.

“Bring her with us,” the warden’s sunken yellowish eyes rolled around in the sockets. Then, an evil smile appeared on its face, “… Bring her to her children.”

As the woman roared in rage and struggled with all her might, the crowd ofduoluozhong began swarming towards the entrance. The warden had a sour expression on its face. Suddenly, its face wrinkled like the bark of the pine tree as a sinister thought crossed its mind. It stepped on the chain in between the woman’s ankles, causing the woman to fall with her belly hit the ground first.

She faced straight towards an idol at the direction she fell. The woman glanced at the idol for a moment before lowering her gaze again. She then clambered up from the ground.

The warden’s eyes rolled again. It spun to the duoluozhong standing next to it and ordered, “… Send somebody in to clean up this mess. Deva will not be happy to see this.”

The duoluozhong could not speak, merely opened its face and revealed its row of sharp metallic teeth that lined from its forehead to chin. Saliva dripped to the ground, and the warden took it as a yes.

Perhaps they realized the gravity of the situation, all of the duoluozhong left the underground shrine in a blink of an eye. They snuffed out the fire on their way out. As the steel door closed with a loud bang, the entire underground shrine was plunged into absolute darkness.

Lin Sanjiu let out a sigh of relief, but the anxiety in her heart did not abate at all.

The woman, which they had just met a few hours ago had sacrificed herself to give them a chance to escape. Lin Sanjiu did not have the full picture; however, from their conversation alone she knew that those monsters wouldn’t let the woman get off that easily. She tried desperately to move her fingers, but her body wouldn’t budge.

“How long I have to wait before the stigma goes away?”

“This is your chance to regain your Higher Consciousness. You shouldn’t make any moves until you’ve recovered at least half of your Higher Consciousness,” Mrs.Manas seized the chance to nag her again, sounding like a noisy parakeet.

She knew her grand prize was not far away from her, hiding under the mimicked [Elementary Grade Ambient Color] although she couldn’t see right now. Somehow, she felt relieved a bit as no matter how anxious she was, she couldn’t do anything if she couldn’t command her body at will.

As the minute dragged along, Lin Sanjiu was getting more and more anxious. Her anxiousness squeezed her heart, and her mind was tortured by the fact that she couldn’t move her body still, even after a long time had passed. The footfalls overhead were loud, but she didn’t know what was happening up there. The tremor caused the dust on the ceiling to fall on the ground. After what seemed like an eternity, the light bulb in Lin Sanjiu’s heart blinked.

Fearing that it was just a false alarm, she slowly lifted her finger.

Her finger that refused listen to her command a while ago flicked in the air. As if a chain-reaction, the moment her finger left the ground, her entire body shook and her mobility returned. Her heart thumped wildly with joy. She immediately put away the [Battle Item] and jumped up from the ground.

“Grand prize, can you move now?” She called out into the dark before summoning the [Ability Polishing Agent] to her hand. Beams of silvery light instantly filled half of the space and lit up the faces of Deva’s idols. It seemed like they were all smiling at her.

“Let’s get out of—”

Before she could finish her sentence, she turned around and swallowed her next words back into her stomach.

Ji Shanqing had stood up as well. Although he, like her, had also regained his mobility, he wasn’t moving on his free will. A tendril had wrapped around his face, so he couldn’t speak. His body was tied up, leaving only his two eyes glistening with fear were exposed.

“I should show my gratitude to you for showing yourself,” the silver light had cast a symphony of light and dark on the warden’s face. It smiled, “… You have saved us ample of time and energy.”